African Review of Business and Technology articles from April 2007

African Review of Business and Technology archives from April 2007

Editor's note.
April 1, 2007... SALES OF GENERATING sets continue to soar, peaking last year at USS4.7bn in terms of world trade. Some manufacturers have experienced difficulty in keeping up with their overflowing order books and, as ever, Africa is a major customer. Recent...

The Durban Car Terminal, a vital link for the export and import of vehicles, handled a total of 413617 vehicles last year--301,267 imports and 112,350 exports.(Briefly)
April 1, 2007... THE DURBAN CAR Terminal, a vital link for the export and import of vehicles, handled a total of 413617 vehicles last year--301,267 imports and 112,350 exports. July was the busiest month, with 41,066 vehicles arriving or being shipped from...

A Ugandan garment maker, Phenix Logostics, which specialises in manufacturing high quality garments from knitted fabric made with locally produced organic cotton, is to export t-shirts to the US.(Briefly)
April 1, 2007... A UGANDAN GARMENT maker, Phenix Logostics, which specialises in manufacturing high quality garments from knitted fabric made with locally produced organic cotton, is to export t-shirts to the US. The garments will be 100 per cent Ugandan....

The government of Liberia has signed a US$1bn mineral concession agreement for the operation of Mittal Steel in Liberia.(Briefly)
April 1, 2007... THE GOVERNMENT OF Liberia has signed a US$1bn mineral concession agreement for the operation of Mittal Steel in Liberia. Representing the government were senior ministers and the CEO of Mittal Steel, Joseph Mathews, signed the 66-page...

An emergency electricity Project costing US$25 mn has been signed between Liberia, the governments of Norway and Ghana, and the US as well as top officials from the European Union and the World Bank.(Briefly)
April 1, 2007... AN EMERGENCY ELECTRICITY Project costing US$25 mn has been signed between Liberia, the governments of Norway and Ghana, and the US as well as top officials from the European Union and the World Bank. The second phase will extend electricity...

The Japan Bank for International Cooperation (JBIC) has signed an ODA loan agreement totalling up to US$97mn with the African Development Bank (AfDB) to finance a private sector assistance loan under the Enhanced Private Sector Assistance for Africa initiative.(Briefly)
April 1, 2007... THE JAPAN BANK for International Cooperation (JBIC) has signed an ODA loan agreement totalling up to US$97mn with the African Development Bank (AfDB) to finance a private sector assistance loan under the Enhanced Private Sector Assistance for...

Reuters, the global news and information company, has announced the launch of Reuters Africa--a new commercial website dedicated to pan-African news and financial data.(Briefly)
April 1, 2007... REUTERS, THE GLOBAL news and information company, has announced the launch of Reuters Africa--a new commercial website dedicated to pan-African news and financial data. Reuters Africa, www.reuters.com/africa, showcases Reuters extensive...

Crane Bank Uganda registered a Ush15.4bn record profit in the year ended 31 December 2006.(Briefly)(Financial report)
April 1, 2007... CRANE BANK UGANDA registered a Ush15.4bn record profit in the year ended 31 December 2006. The Ush15.4bn profit represents 71.11 per cent growth from Ush89bn registered by the bank in the year 2005. The bank's managing director, A R Kalan,...

Johannesburg International Airport will undergo a R8bn facelift in the next six years in order to accommodate growing passenger numbers and air traffic movements.(Briefly)
April 1, 2007... JOHANNESBURG INTERNATIONAL AIRPORT will undergo a R8bn facelift in the next six years in order to accommodate growing passenger numbers and air traffic movements. A new cargo facility is included in the plan to meet increasing shipments into...

Nigeria's flag carrier, Virgin Nigeria was recently voted Airline of the Year, 2006.(Briefly)
April 1, 2007... NIGERIA'S FLAG CARRIER, Virgin Nigeria was recently voted Airline of the Year, 2006. This was at the 12th Annual This Day Awards ceremony which was held at the Muson Centre, Onikan, Lagos. Virgin Nigeria was presented with the trophy, beating...

Dr Peter Chikumba has been appointed as the Air Zimbabwe Group's new CEO.(Briefly)
April 1, 2007... DR PETER CHIKUMBA has been appointed as the Air Zimbabwe Group's new CEO. Dr Chikumba has worked in the airline industry for 31 years and is expected to complete the Group's phased unbundling programme and implement the company's turnaround...

Norse Air has been re-awarded a two-year contract by the National Treasury Dept of South Africa for the hiring of aircraft and helicopters to the State.(Briefly)
April 1, 2007... NORSE AIR HAS been re-awarded a two-year contract by the National Treasury Dept of South Africa for the hiring of aircraft and helicopters to the State. The previous contract had a gross value of around R25mn. This follows the award of Norse...

Access to ICT helps bridge the digital divide.(Brief article)
April 1, 2007... THE GSM ASSOCIATION and the International Telecommunication Union have agreed to work towards improving access to information and communication technology in the least developed and developing countries. A memorandum of understanding was...

Annan calls for development through peace.(Kofi Annan)(Brief article)
April 1, 2007... KOFI ANNAN, FORMER Secretary of the UN Organisation, has observed that some of the issues militating against investment in Africa are human rights abuse, wars, insecurity and misrule or bad governance. He said: "When a continent is seen by...

Southern Sudan and Uganda in trade pact.(Commercial Review)
April 1, 2007... SOUTHERN SUDAN AND Uganda have signed a pact that will help to foster trade between the two countries. Uganda's foreign affairs minister, Sam Kuteesa signed on behalf of his government, while South Sudan's minister for Regional Cooperation,...

Nedbank lists on the NSX.(Commercial Review)
April 1, 2007... SOUTH AFRICA'S NEDBANK Group became the second of Namibia's four commercial banks to list its shares on the Namibia Stock Exchange (NSX) at the end of February, 2007. Nedbank is South Africa's fourth largest banking group with a market...

Uganda reduces debt burden.(Commercial Review)(Brief article)
April 1, 2007... UGANDA'S FOREIGN DEBT has dropped from nearly USS4.5bn to US$1bn, thanks to the World Bank's USS3.7bn debt waiver that started in July 2006. This means that if each of Uganda's 27mn people were to be assigned a portion of the debt, it would...

COMESA and Jordan sign MoU.(Commercial Review)(THE COMMON MARKET for Eastern and Southern Africa)(memorandum of understanding )(Brief article)
April 1, 2007... THE COMMON MARKET for Eastern and Southern Africa (COMESA) has signed a memorandum of understanding with the government of Jordan. The MoU was signed on 14 March 2007 at the COMESA Secretariat in Lusaka, The MoU was drawn up as a result of...

Nigeria faces acute power shortages.(Commercial Review)
April 1, 2007... THE FEDERAL CAPITAL Territory, Abuja, and its environs is currently facing acute shortages of electricity, resulting from the sharp drop in supply from 100MW to 65MW from the national grid. The situation has led to massive load shedding...

Drilling steps up in Nigeria-STP zone.(Oil News)(Aban Offshore)(Sao Tome e Principe)(Brief article)
April 1, 2007... AN AGREEMENT signed by China's Sinopec in March should lead to a sharp increase in drilling in the Joint Development Zone (JDZ), the formerly-disputed offshore area now shared by Nigeria and Sao Tome e Principe. Sinopec has secured a...

Nigeria.(Brief article)
April 1, 2007... NIGERIA LNG HAS been awarded the front-end engineering design contract for the SevenPlus expansion at the liquefied natural gas complex on Bonny island. The contract went to a venture between Foster Wheeler and Chiyoda. The expansion project...

Algeria.(Oil News)
April 1, 2007... CANADA'S FIRST CALGARY Petroleums said it received approval from Alnaft, the country's regulatory authority, for its development plan for the MLE oilfield, in Block 405b of the Berkine basin. Included in the plan is the construction of a gas...

CGGVeritas promotes South Africa's licence round.(Brief article)
April 1, 2007... CGG VERITAS HAS ANNOUNCED that it is joining forces with the Petroleum Agency SA to promote South Africa's 2007 offshore licensing round. [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] Details of the acreage, opportunities and terms and conditions will be...

Angola.(Oil News)
April 1, 2007... MUSTANG, PART OF the UK's John Wood group, won the contract to design the compliant piled tower platform for Chevron's Tombua-Landana development, in Block 14. The tower--only the fourth of the type to be built worldwide--will stand in water...

Egypt.(Oil News)
April 1, 2007... US FIRM APACHE'S Syrah-5X appraisal well, in the Khalda licence of the Western Desert, test-flowed 1.3m cubic metres/day of gas, the firm said. The result proved an extension to the Syrah field, which lies just over 6 kilometres north of the...

Libya.(Oil News)
April 1, 2007... SPAIN'S REPSOL YPF has submitted a development plan for its large oil discovery in the NC 115 and NC 186 licences of the Murzuq basin. The firm estimates that oil in-place at the field amounts to 1.26bn barrels, of which 474m barrels can be...

Tea in demand.(Brief article)
April 1, 2007... PRICES FOR THE top grades of Kenyan tea have picked up in the past couple of weeks on account of good demand, particularly from Egypt and Pakistan. In late January and early February, prices had slipped due to the large quantities of tea on...

Platinum slips back.(Brief article)
April 1, 2007... PLATINUM FELL BACK in March following the year-to-date highs reached in mid-February, largely on account of hedge funds Liquidating profitable positions mainly in other precious metals to pay for losses on other assets. On 5 March, spot...

LME copper reaches three-month highs.(Commodity Report)
April 1, 2007... AFTER HITTING A 10-month low in early February, copper prices have continued on their upper trajectory. The three-month price on the London Metal Exchange (LME) reached a three-month high of US$6,620 a tonne on 16 March, US$1,365 a tonne up...

Gold under pressure in turbulent equity markets.(Brief article)
April 1, 2007... AFTER POSTING A fresh-nine month high of US$689 a troy ounce on 26 February on the Iran-US stand-off regarding the former's uranium enrichment programme, gold fell back to US$664.60 in volatile conditions in early March trading. Dealers said...

Arabica weakness weighs on robusta.(Commodity Report)
April 1, 2007... EARLY MARCH SAW London robusta coffee futures hit a two-and-a-half month low as a wave of technical selling took its toll. The benchmark May contract slipped to US$1,480 a tonne by close of trading on LIFFE on 2 March, US$32 down on the day....

London cocoa at eight-month highs.(Commodity Report)
April 1, 2007... COCOA PRICES CONTINUED to rally in late February through the first half of March, with the benchmark May contract on the London International Financial Futures Exchange (LIFFE) reaching an eight-month high of UK[pounds sterling]1,028 a tonne...

Executives' calendar.(Calendar)
April 1, 2007... APRIL 16-18 NOG. Nigeria Oil and Gas ABUJA CWC Group, London, Uk. Tel: +44 (0)20 708 94200 Fax: +44 (0)20 708 94201. e-mail:info@thecwcgroup.com. www.thecwcgroup.com 18-20 RESALE 2007 ...

Expansion for Eldoret airport.(Business Travel)
April 1, 2007... KENYA'S ELDORET INTERNATIONAL Airport is to be expanded at a cost of Ksh32mn to make it attractive to international airlines. Emerging peace in Southern Sudan and the Democratic Republic of Congo makes the airport an important hub for...

Libyan Arab signs up for IT system.(Brief article)
April 1, 2007... FLAG CARRIER LIBYAN Arab Airlines has signed up for a revenue accounting system that should boost productivity and enhance customer confidence. The RAPID revenue accounting system offered by Mercator, the IT solutions provider of the Emirates...

GIA celebrates 100th flight to UK.(Ghana international airlines)(Brief article)
April 1, 2007... GHANA INTERNATIONAL AIRLINES (GIA), Ghana's new national carrier has chalked up its 100th successful flight from Accra to London Gatwick. The carrier also announced that it achieved an unprecedented 100 per cent on-time record for arrivals at...

Japanese yen and Swiss franc go up.(Financial Forecast)
April 1, 2007... A FEW KEY African currencies have weakened against the US dollar over the last few weeks, bringing relief to mineral exporters in Zambia and South Africa especially while traders of soft commodities in the CFA group remain constrained by a...

Exchange rates.(Financial Forecast)
April 1, 2007... Exchange Rates The currencies shown below are valued at the middle rates between buying and selling on 19 March. The rates are an indication of the value and are not intended to be used as the basis for transactions. The publisher...

Forecast movements against the dollar.(Financial Forecast)(Statistical table)
April 1, 2007... Forecast movements against the dollar Country 19 Mar 2007 (actual) early May 2007 July 2007 Japan (Yen) 116.7 114-118 115-120 Switzerland (Franc) 1.208 1.20-1.22 ...

Building a business-friendly environment attracts investors.(Investment)
April 1, 2007... In recent years the private sector has accounted for the bulk of new jobs in developing regions. Moin Siddiqi argues that official policies should nurture private enterprise with financial and institutional support for companies (including...

Kenya conference highlights rural services: ways of spreading banking services to more of Kenya's rural population were discussed in February. But the network operators want a tax break first, as Mwangi Mumero reports.(Banking)(Conference news)
April 1, 2007... COMMERCIAL BANKS IN Africa should embrace new technology to help reach rural areas and those currently without banking services. Kenya's Information and Communication permanent secretary Dr Bitange Ndemo attributes the low number of rural...

London launch of Africa Finance Corporation: Clive Carpenter reports on the London launch of the Africa Finance Corporation, Africa's answer to the IFC.(Banking)
April 1, 2007... ON 7 MARCH 2007, in the glittering setting of the ballroom of the Four Seasons Hotel, London, Professor Soludo, Governor of the Central Bank of Nigeria launched the Africa Finance Corporation. With the great and the good amongst the...

IT transforms Malawi's economy: as Malawi's economy picks up, the emergence of modern technology is transforming the financial sector right across the country.(Information Technology)
April 1, 2007... MALAWI'S BANKING INDUSTRY is stopping at nothing to bring banking to the unbanked using technological advances. In the process they are helping to dispel misconceptions that banking is for a privileged few, whilst also instilling some fiscal...

W.Afri.Tel 2007 on its way for June.(Information Technology)
April 1, 2007... NOW IN ITS seventh year the West African International Telecommunications and Information Technology Exhibition is once more being held in Lagos. This year will see the doors open from 5-7 June. "The last three exhibitions have been...

Satellite TV service launched.(Information Technology)
April 1, 2007... GATEWAY COMMUNICATIONS, has announced the launch of GTV, a pan-African pay-TV satellite delivered service. It will provide a programme of high quality international and local entertainment content with a subscription price aimed at...

Print security leads the fight against fraud; The IT sector is especially vulnerable to fraud, and printing is just one of the areas where security is vital. Paul Haglich, product manager: production systems group at Bytes Document Solutions, shows how you can protect yourself and your business.(Information Technology)
April 1, 2007... SECURITY IS A topic that is familiar to many people. It affects every aspect of our Lives, be it in the form of physical and financial wellbeing, criminal protection or IT safety. We are forever trying to find ways to be safer in our homes...

New facets to the nation's economic outlook: diamonds formed the foundation for Botswana's success, but it is the service sector that will underpin the future. We take a fresh look at Africa's economic miracle.(Botswana)
April 1, 2007... WITH ECONOMIC GROWTH maintained in the sustainable four-five per cent range, gross national income/capita nearing US$6000 (the average for SSA is currently less than US$800) and four decades of political and social stability behind it,...

Can Gaborone become a financial gateway to Africa?(Botswana)
April 1, 2007... AFRICAN JURISDICTIONS HAVE been making small advances for so long they often fail to think big. But you don't always have to move forward by incremental steps. Sometimes a great leap forward can catapult you into the Big League... if you...

Exciting outlook for air cargo: global air freight movements are booming and an ageing fleet means plenty of sales opportunities for new airframes. Few African airports will be ready to handle the huge payloads that are on the way, but opportunities for regional carriers flying converts are excellent.(Air Cargo)
April 1, 2007... THE AIRCRAFT-BUILDING business is the scene of one of the largest commercial battles anywhere and ever. Top contenders are Boeing of the US and the European Airbus consortium. The main issue is who will be supplying the airframes needed to...

Comprehensive air cargo service for Africa meets client demand.(Air Cargo)
April 1, 2007... BASED ON CLIENTS' demand and positive market developments, Cargolux of Luxembourg, the all-cargo airline, offers a number of additional services to and from Africa. The latest Cargolux gateways include Lagos, Lusaka, and N'Djamena, while a...

Air freight developments in Nigeria.(Air Cargo)
April 1, 2007... ILORIN'S NEW CARGO import facility has opened for reception ahead of the completion of its dedicated two-way air cargo terminal in May. The Nigerian project is being managed and implemented by ground-handling specialists Astra Aviation...

Emirates new freighter service to Djibouti.(Air Cargo)
April 1, 2007... EMIRATES SKYCARGO INTRODUCED freighter services from Dubai to Djibouti on 18 February. Djibouti, Emirates' 15th African destination, is now being served by the Airbus A310-300F freighter once a week. Operating every Sunday, flight EK...

Testing your tyre pressure can save your life: monitoring the pressure of your tyres can save your life--but only if you know how to use the technology.(Vehicles)
April 1, 2007... FOUR LITTLE WHEEL sensors in a growing number of vehicles can help save Lives by alerting motorists to low tyre pressure, a potentially dangerous driving situation. General Motors (GM) is encouraging motorists to take a few minutes this fall...

Michelin tops tyre survey.(Vehicles)
April 1, 2007... OWNERS OF NEW vehicles equipped with Michelin tyres report having the most satisfying ownership experience, according to the J.D. Power and Associates 2006 South Africa Original Equipment Tyre Customer Satisfaction Index (CSI) Study. ...

Shuttle vans keep Nairobi on the go: Mwangi Mumero reports on the boom in shuttle van services following a government crackdown on passenger transport standards. The converted Nissan vans offer both speed and comfort for those willing and able to pay.(Vehicles)
April 1, 2007... INCREASED COMPETITION IN Kenya's public transport sub-sector has led to the introduction of shuttle services, making travel both quick and comfortable. Three years ago, the government instituted reforms in public transport that saw the...

Big bus order for Yaounde.(Vehicles)
April 1, 2007... TRANSNATIONAL AUTOMOTIVE GROUP, Inc (TAUG) has announced that the company will ship 30 new city buses from Shanghai to the Republic of Cameroon to augment TAUG's urban bus system, LeBus, in Yaounde. The TAUG vehicles are new Higer city buses...

Shipping sector haunted by threat of terrorism: the shipping industry, especially oil tankers, remains vulnerable to terrorist attack. Lynda Davies assesses the risks.(Shipping)
April 1, 2007... THE TERRORIST ATTACKS of 11 September, 2001, heightened concern about the vulnerability of the maritime sector to terrorism. Al-Qaeda leaders have vowed to attack the industrialised societies' 'economic lifelines,' and have repeatedly stated...

Safmarine upgrades Safari shipping services.(Shipping)
April 1, 2007... SAFMARINE'S SAFARI SHIPPING services between the Far East and South Africa are to be upgraded following the deployment of new larger, faster vessels and the inclusion of an additional, direct port of call at Ningbo, China. The service...

Nigeria develops its non-oil resources: Abuja is the headquarters of an institution devoted to making more use of Nigeria's agricultural and other non-oil resources. It organised a special event for international investors late last year.(Nigeria)
April 1, 2007... NIGERIA'S RAW MATERIALS Research & Development Council held its 8th Techno-Exposition in Abuja from 13-16 November. Chief officer Eng (Prof) Peter Onwualu pointed out that 500 firms were involved in agricultural processing while only a...

Joint venture to build gensets in West Africa.(Generating Sets)
April 1, 2007... CUMMINS INC HAS completed the signing of a joint-venture agreement to establish a new company, Cummins West Africa, in partnership with Nigerian company A G Leventis. The new Cummins West Africa operation in Lagos will manufacture power...

Projects around the continent from Nigeria to Algeria.(Generating Sets)(Company overview)
April 1, 2007... AKSA POWER GENERATION West Africa is a member of the AKSA Group of companies which includes operations in Algeria and Dubai. AKSA Power Generation has total annual sales of US$150mn. [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] AKSA Nigeria's main...

Uganda plans hydro projects.(Generating Sets)
April 1, 2007... THE GOVERNMENT Of Uganda has identified and assessed at least 71 potential small hydropower sites countrywide, with a combined capacity of 200MW, for investment by local and foreign investors. According to the ministry of energy and mineral...

Volvo Penta launches powerful engine.(Generating Sets)
April 1, 2007... COMPACT, FUEL-EFFICIENT and excellent load step performance are characteristics of the new Volvo Penta TWD1643GE diesel engine. These features are a result of Volvo Penta's use of advanced engine technology, such as; dual stage turbo...

Record orders.(Generating Sets)(Brief article)
April 1, 2007... ABB SA ACHIEVED record power and automation orders worth R3.6bn in 2006, 30 per cent higher than the previous year. These were spurred by the local electrical power infrastructure expansion programme and more buoyant business in industrial...

Aggreko declares results and powers literacy drive.(Generating Sets)(revenue report)(Financial report)
April 1, 2007... AGGREKO PLC, A world leader in the supply of temporary power, temperature control and oil-free compressed air services, has announced its preliminary results for the 12 months to 31 December 2006. Operational highlights include: *...

Change of name and logo.(Generating Sets)(UTC Engineering renamed as Servipower)
April 1, 2007... UTC ENGINEERING, THE official Perkins distributor for Nigeria, has changed its name to Servipower. The change, which was effective from 1 March 2007, followed the company's acquisition by new investors and board of directors with Dr Jackson...

IMS and MTU celebrate 30-year relationship.(Generating Sets)
April 1, 2007... THIS YEAR SEES the continuance of a remarkable 30 year business relationship between IMS Cape and MTU. Prior to the establishment of MTU South Africa in 2001, IMS was a fully-fledged MTU genset engine dealer and distributor who has since...

World sales of gensets reach an all-time high: exports of diesel generators in 2006 reached an all-time high, peaking at US$4.7bn in world trade; an increase of 15.4 per cent over the previous year. And, as ever Africa is one of the leading destinations as our Power Correspondent reveals in his annual assessment of the genset market.(Generating Sets)
April 1, 2007... LAST YEAR WAS a good one for the US, whose exports had risen US$308mn, a rise of 38.7 per cent from the previous year but by comparison the UK only rose five per cent and the EU by 6.9 per cent. Japan has recovered and its exports rose 45 per...

Generating set Buyers' Guide 2007: Africa's annual where-to-buy guide.(Directory)(Company overview)
April 1, 2007... SECTION ONE -- Suppliers of software and their local agents SECTION TWO -- Contact details of African agents listed by country, page 68 PLEASE MENTION AFRICAN REVIEW WHEN CONTACTING YOUR SUPPLIER Section One Advanced Diesel...

Save time and effort with the right rig: narrow-bore tubewells have many advantages over traditional hand-dug structures, not least of which is the production cost. But the choice of construction technique depends on the geology and economics of the site.(Water Drilling)
April 1, 2007... THROUGHOUT AFRICA, WOMEN in rural areas walk long distances each day to fetch water from a source which is often polluted anyway. Yet often there is good clean water just 30m or so beneath the village or compound. The problem is to establish...

Multi-million rand projects awarded.
April 1, 2007... VWS ENVIG BOTSWANA has been awarded a R16m project from the Botswana Department of Water Affairs to supply a turnkey water treatment plant for the softening of borehole water. This includes the design, building and commissioning of the plant....

Minerals in Mozambique.(Brief article)
April 1, 2007... BATEMAN ENGINEERING REPORTS good progress on the infrastructure installed last year at the new Tupuito (near Moma) minerals processing plant on a remote part of Mozambique's coast. The firm is working with Multiplex of Australia on the US$250...

Flagship wheel loader set to boost performance figures.
April 1, 2007... THE COUNTDOWN TO the launch of Volvo Construction Equipment's L350F wheel loader has begun in earnest. The new model is set to offer improvements in almost all aspects over the outgoing L330E. If a company's product offering is determined...

Contracts awarded in Uganda.(Brief article)
April 1, 2007... A SERBIAN COMPANY, Energoprojekt Niskogradnja Joint Stock Company, has won a Ush17bn tender for rehabilitation of the Kawempe-Luwero road. A statement from the Road Agency Formation Unit said that the company beat four others and that work is...

RESALE 2007 web now in 16 languages.
April 1, 2007... RESALE 2007, THE 3rd International Trade Fair for Used Machinery and Equipment which will take place from 18 to 20 April 2007 in Karlsruhe/Germany, is now presenting its comprehensive Internet services for visitors and exhibitors in 16...

Machinery manufacturers join the big line up: 'must attend' is the catchphrase for this year's top construction and mining machinery trade exhibition in Germany from 23-29 April. Ahead of special show coverage later in the year we take a look at the bauma preview material and tell you where to get more.(Construction)
April 1, 2007... PLANS ARE ALMOST finalised for this year's number-one construction and mining equipment/materials trade exhibition. The last edition in 2004 brought together 2800 trade and other exhibitors and attracted 416,000 visitors from 171 countries;...

Big advances in asphalt: more unsealed roads are to be found in Africa than any other region. At a meeting in Atlanta in March the global asphalt industry revealed that it wants to put this right using as many local materials as possible.(Construction)
April 1, 2007... READILY PRODUCED FROM the bitumen contained in Africa's crude oil, asphalt is one of the most widely-used construction materials in SSA. The prospect of a sealed or 'blacktop' road reaching their community or roadhead is a dream for millions....

Atlas Copco to acquire Dynapac.(Construction)
April 1, 2007... ATLAS COPCO AB has entered into an agreement with Altor 2003 Fund to acquire Dynapac AB of Sweden, a leading supplier of compaction and paving equipment for the road construction market. The acquisition will strengthen Atlas Copco's position...

Volvo's new acquisition.(Construction)
April 1, 2007... VOLVO HAS REACHED an agreement with Ingersoll Rand to acquire the assets of the company's road development division, a world-leading manufacturer of heavy equipment for road construction and soil compaction with revenues of US$864mn in 2006....

Western Cape goes for gravel.(Construction)(Brief article)
April 1, 2007... CONSULTING ENGINEERS NINHAM Shand were appointed by the Free State's PWD to regravel portions of three roads in the north, the projects being scheduled for completion at the end of last year. Associated works included the forming and...

Diamonds and uranium, Namibia's double blessing: diamond mining is the mainstay of Namibia's economy, but now the rush for uranium is causing even greater excitement, writes Priscilla Ross.(Mining)
April 1, 2007... DIAMOND MINING IS the mainstay of the Namibian economy accounting for 10 per cent of GDP, seven per cent of government revenue over the past decade and 40 per cent of the country's export revenue. Namibia has also been experiencing something...

New machines for crushing and screening: at "bauma 2007 with mining" several new and upgraded crushing machines, screens and mobile crushing plant will be on display. Kyran Casteel attended the the show preview.(Mining)
April 1, 2007... NOT ALL THE companies that will exhibit new equipment at bauma for crushing, sizing and screening coal, ores and aggregates were present at the preview for journalists organised by the Munich Fairs bauma team. But there were more than...